Paramus police chief doubles as volunteer fire chief

Kenneth R. Ehrenberg is the Paramus Chief of Police as well as the Chief of the Paramus Volunteer Fire Department for 2018. Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com

Kenneth R. Ehrenberg is the Paramus Chief of Police, as well as the Chief of the Paramus Fire Department. He is shown here as he poses for a photograph at Paramus Fire House #4, Wednesday, January 3, 2018.(Photo: Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)

The fire call came in just after 3 p.m., and Kenneth Ehrenberg was out the door.

The newly inducted Paramus fire chief, who is also the top cop in town, jumped into his unmarked police car. Within two minutes and with sirens blaring, he arrived at the local ShopRite.

By then, other volunteer firefighters had arrived on scene. They, like Ehrenberg, had dropped what they were doing to respond to the call. Some were still dressed in suits.

With temperatures below freezing, Ehrenberg, a 35-year firefighter, speculated the call was weather-related. He was right: A leak in the sprinkler system at an adjacent business caused the supermarket's alarm to go off. Soon the alarm was reset and all was under control. Ehrenberg released the fire fighters, and went back to work.

By 3:40 p.m., Ehrenberg was back at police headquarters, only 10 minutes late to a sit-down meeting about local grants.

Ehrenberg, who has served as the Paramus police chief for about five years, took on an additional top role this month: chief of the borough’s volunteer fire department.

“It’s not common, but it’s happened before,” Ehrenberg said of his dual role. “There are a lot of police in Bergen County that are volunteer firemen. A lot.”

For the chief, the new role, which is set to expire after one year, was a welcome addition to his day-to-day. He has been working his way up the ranks of the fire department since he joined in 1982. Last year, he served as assistant chief.

Kenneth R. Ehrenberg is the Paramus Chief of Police, as well as the Chief of the Paramus Fire Department. He is shown here as he poses for a photograph at Paramus Fire House #4, Wednesday, January 3, 2018.(Photo: Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)

In his firefighting career, Ehrenberg has battled some of the biggest blazes in North Jersey, including the Meyer Brothers Department Store fire in 1991 in Paterson and the Great Passaic Fire in 1985.

He's also had an eventful career in law enforcement: He delivered two babies; received three lifesaving awards – one for saving his neighbor’s life; and helped capture a murderer who escaped prison in 1992, making headlines as a 27-year-old patrol officer.

As if that weren't enough, in 1997 he decided to enroll in law school because, as he put it, he was looking for an “additional challenge in life.” He graduated from Seton Hall Law School in 2001, and was admitted to the bar in New Jersey and New York.

The latest challenge he set for himself should come as no surprise.

Both roles are “very similar,” said Ehrenberg. Both involve organizing budgets, and being responsible for members of the department. He also has overall incident command of all fire and criminal calls.

Between both posts, Ehrenberg estimates he manages about 300 people, including more than 90 police officers, about 120 firefighters, and police dispatchers and secretaries. As police chief, he is also in charge of managing the borough’s career Emergency Medical Services department.

In Paramus, police calls average more than 60,000 per year. Fire calls number 1,200 to 1,400 per year, said Ehrenberg. Last year was a busy one for the fire department – which usually sees about five structure fires annually, but in 2017 saw about 17 or 18, including a fatal fire.

Most calls require both the police and fire departments to respond. That’s why the Federal Emergency Management Agency pushes for a unity of command between police officers and fire fighters, explained Ehrenberg.

“They had incidents in the past where police didn’t talk to the fire department, and fire department didn’t talk to the police department,” he said. “It’s almost a perfect storm that at the end of the day the police and the fire have to get along and the EMS, because I’m kind of running all of them. Everybody will be on the same page. I think that’s a big advantage.”

The biggest advantage, however, is that he is always in town. “I’m in the borough all day connected to city hall,” he said. “Some of the volunteer firefighters have their own businesses. They’re attorneys or bankers, and they’re not here all the time. In a way, it’s a little easier for me.”

Woes of a volunteer fire department

For a department like Paramus, having highly qualified volunteers – like a chief of police — is a bonus in a time when departments across the country struggle with recruitment and retention.

Kenneth R. Ehrenberg is the Paramus Chief of Police, as well as the Chief of the Paramus Fire Department. He is shown here doing paper work at his desk. Wednesday, January 3, 2018(Photo: Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)

“It’s a problem not just in Paramus, but everywhere,” said Ehrenberg. “Years ago, people only worked one job. They had the time to volunteer and do this and do that. Now, people work two jobs. Some work three jobs. It’s very hard to recruit and retain people to be a volunteer fire fighter because it’s a 24-hour call.”

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, an entity of FEMA, about 75 percent of fire departments registered with the National Fire Department Registry in New Jersey are volunteer. Only 7.6 percent are listed as career, with a mix of 13.2 percent listed as mostly volunteer and 3.7 percent defined as mostly career.

“You have to come out in the middle of the night. You have to come out on your kid’s birthday. It takes you away from your family. That’s some of the downfall,” he said. “The positive is that it’s a great way to help out your community. It’s just so important. If there’s a fire, somebody needs to come.”

Kenneth R. Ehrenberg is the Paramus Chief of Police, as well as the Chief of the Paramus Fire Department. He is shown here, on a fire department call, just off Rt. 4. Wednesday, January 3, 2018(Photo: Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)

While some of North Jersey's larger municipalities use paid departments, that comes at a cost. Hackensack, for example, appropriated nearly $13 million for department salaries and wages in 2017.

“It would cost millions of dollars for a paid, career department for a place as big as Paramus. For volunteers, we’re a busy department,” said Ehrenberg. “We also have a pretty big contingent of fire fighters who are career firefighters in other big cities, probably over a dozen. When they’re off, they still volunteer – which brings a lot of experience to our department.”

What came first – the fireman or the cop?

For as long as Ehrenberg has been a cop, he has been a firefighter.

What people may not know: He has been a fireman longer.

In October of 1982, Ehrenberg was fresh out of high school and eager to begin his stint in public service. Inspired his by father, also a volunteer fireman in Paramus, he joined Fire Company 4 at age 18.

“My father was the fire chief of Paramus in 1990, and he joined the department in the 60s,” said Ehrenberg. “That’s one of the reasons I got involved in the fire department.”

Kenneth R. Ehrenberg is the Paramus Chief of Police, as well as the Chief of the Paramus Fire Department. He is shown here, on a fire department call, just off Rt. 4. Wednesday, January 3, 2018(Photo: Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)

Other famiy members followed suit. His younger brother, a captain with the Port Authority Police Department, and son, an active member of the Air Force, also joined the department. That makes three generations of the Ehrenbergs at Fire Company 4.

“Public service was just inbred into our family,” said Ehrenberg.

Then at 21, Ehrenberg was hired as a police officer. He turned 22 in the academy.

Throughout his career, he has seen it all. But there is one thing he hopes to see in 2018: a quiet year.

“A safe year for everybody. A safe year for my firefighters. A safe year for my police officers,” he said. “We want everyone to come home safe. At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing: that everybody comes home safe and residents stay safe.”